A Web site is made up of many elements from existing print products to original audio, video, and animation. Each site has its own set of requirements and services but as with any successful complex experiment, there is a logical progression of tasks that blend all the elements into a final distilled compound. Web site development is no different. The final site is only as good as the process that created it.

The Innovative Publication's process draws from the entertainment industry's paradigm of pre-production, production, and post-production and the software development life cycle.

Tasks may be concurrent such as programming online services and HTML coding. Or they may be ongoing, such as quality control.

So join us for a walk-through of our Web process. We'll help you find success in an exciting, challenging, and evolving industry.

Someone has the idea to create a Web site. The first question to ask is "why"? Are you creating a site because your competitors are on-line? Is the site an Intranet for employees or an Extranet for partners? Do you actually have something of value to say?

Site Goals
For your site to score points, you must determine what the site needs to accomplish. Your goals should be measurable and behavior-based from the visitor's standpoint.

Target Audience
Who is your site intended to reach? How old? Gender? Educational background? Socioeconomic level? Ethnic background? Language? Expectations? Computer literacy?

Technical Considerations
Download times are critical so how are your visitors connecting to the Web? Modem, ISDN, or T1? Corporate or at-home visitors? Domestic or international? Low-end resolution of 640 x 480 with 256 colors or higher?

Planning
What building blocks go into your site? How long will each task take? How much will the site cost? Who is going to do the work? Planning is crucial--if you fail to plan, you're planning to fail.

Site Content
What information is your Web site providing? How is it organized? What services? What do you have and what needs to be developed. An inventory list with the status is created, which will serve as a checklist in the Quality Control and Testing Stages.

Flowcharting
The flowchart is a visual outline of the information. Each level or link represents a screen and/or control that must be created. This "map" is essential for the production phase.

Orientation
Your visitors need to know where they are in cyberspace. How do they know what information is available and where to find it? Your screens are the graphic and verbal directions. X always marks the spot.

Navigation
The flowchart is the map, and the navigation is the landmarks. Remember the shortest path between two points is a straight line.

Site Concept
This stage determines the overall design concept for the site. The concept should be based upon what will appeal to your target audience to meet the site's goals. The concept lays the groundwork for the theme and the site design.

Theme Development
The visual theme or style is determined by the content, the audience, and goals. The best theme is one that ties into the content to provide an integrated message on the world's stage.

Interface Design

At this step, the interface controls (how the visitor interacts with the computer screen) are designed. Each piece contributes to the final integrated visual information design.

Page Design
The site design starts with the home page and moves to the subordinate or child pages. The technical considerations are the limitations and set the level of effort. Never design for yourself or your organization. Design is the visual message for your visitors.

Storyboards
The storyboards are the blueprints for your site. These rough sketches tell your story and bring together all the elements with the navigation.

Creating Prototype Screens
The prototype screens are the site coming to life and provide the foundation for production. These prototypes are your first experiment in using your creation.

Writing
At this step the content is addressed. Even existing material needs to be rewritten and reorganized for an electronic medium. What is effective in print is ineffective in cyberspace.

Editing
All words, including the interfaces, are edited for clarity, grammar, and consistency. Remember, shorter is better. No one likes to scroll. Avoid jargon and use simple English.

Shooting New Images
The inventory developed when planning the site content and the storyboards is used to determine what new images are needed. Plan the who, what, where, when, and how much, then schedule the photo shoot. Make sure you secure ownership or rights for electronic use.

Creating Art
Final illustrations, graphics, buttons, and icons are created using the prototype screens as a guide. A number of software tools are available but don't discount traditional art methods.

Digitizing Art
Existing photographs, illustrations, and graphics are digitized for use on the Web. Electronically generated art as well as digitized art must be prepped. Start with high-quality files, such as TIFF images, and archive the originals.

Animation
Animation can be a simple animated GIF image to complex Shockwave/Flash products or 3D Virtual Reality tours. Complex animations require their own storyboards and production process. They should never prevent accessibility to information.

Optimizing Art
The images are optimized for use on the Web to decrease files sizes and improve download times. The number of colors, palettes, resolution, format, and size are addressed. The final files are converted to GIF or JPG (JPEG) formats.

HTML Coding
The HTML files are the heart of the site. They contain the instructions to display the graphics, provide the line information, and call the programs or CGI scripts. Web authoring softwares, such as FrontPage and NetObjects Fusion, or ASCII-editing programs, such as NotePad, TextPad, or HomeSite, are common tools used to code.

Recording and Digitizing Audio
The edited scripts (or a composer, if using music) are used to plan the who, what, where, when, and how much. Then the recording session is scheduled. The original tape or electronic file should be the highest quality possible to allow for compression. Don't forget about releases, permissions, and ownership rights for the electronic medium.

Assembling Parts
All the art, sound, animation, and text files are brought together into their appropriate subdirectories (folders). File naming conventions are checked against the plans. From here the final working site is created.

Programming
Programming provides the on-line services and functionality of a Web site. This task follows a software development life cycle separate from the Web process. Select your programming language to work under multiple browsers.

Integrating Databases
Databases provide massive amounts of information in an easily maintained format. Design your interfaces for user friendliness. As with programming, integrating databases follows a software development life cycle apart from the Web process. Common tools are Perl, Cold Fusion, and Active Server Pages.

Software Enhancements
Software enhancements can be on the server level or the visitor's browser. Multiple plug-ins are available, such as Shockwave/Flash, Real Audio/Real Video, and Adobe Acrobat. Make sure you provide an easy means for your visitors to download what is needed.

Proofreading
Every word on the screen is proofread and checked for consistency of formatting. In addition the proofreader reviews all audio files against the edited scripts.

Quality Control
Quality control is ongoing throughout the process. This final step checks the overall content, functionality, and usability of the site. The flowchart, storyboards, and other planning documents are invaluable when checking the site.

Post-Production

Testing and Debugging
The final site is tested on multiple computers, monitors, platforms, and browsers. Try to "break" it and then fix the problems that arise. Anticipate how the visitor may use and misuse the site.

Upload to Server
The big moment has arrived. All the files are transferred to their final home, ready to serve the public. Make sure directory structures are the same and that file names are correct. Watch for case sensitive file names and the use of HTM or HTML extensions.

Site Backup
The original files, including audio, art, programming source code, and text, are archived for future revisions. In addition an ongoing backup process needs to be implemented at the server level in the event of a hardware failure.

Site Submissions
Don't forget to submit your new site to the search engines. Web surfers can't visit if they can't find you. Your HTML files should use META tags correctly and contain accurate key words and descriptions.

Site Maintenance
Web sites must be maintained regularly, adding new information and deleting old information. Set up a schedule and assign tasks accordingly.

Site Premier
Congratulations! Your site is a success, and you survived the challenge. But could the inevitable problems inherent to Web site development have been avoided? At Innovative Publications we have found that nine times out of ten the problems are with the process and not the people.